Like Jean Charest, Quebec’s new Liberal party leader Philippe Couillard wears his Canadian identity with pride. That’s good news at a time when the separatist Parti Québécois is in power.

New Quebec Liberal Party Leader Philippe Couillard and his wife Suzanne Pilote at the leadership convention in Montreal Sunday.

Published on Tue Mar 19 2013

Like his predecessor Jean Charest, Quebec’s newly elected Liberal party leader Philippe Couillard wears his Canadian identity with pride. That’s good news at a time when the separatist Parti Québécois is in power. It hasn’t always been so.

Many still remember former premier Robert Bourassa, another Liberal, as a less than wholehearted federalist. During his two tenures in 1970-1976 and 1985-1994 he saw Quebec’s place in Canada more as a matter of “profitable federalism” than passion. He lost no chance to try to squeeze more power from Ottawa, and to redraft the Constitution to give Quebec more recognition and clout. His clashes with Pierre Trudeau were famous.

That changed for the better under Charest, who served as premier from 2003 until his defeat last fall. He is still remembered for proudly waving his passport during the 1995 secession referendum, and proclaiming his love for the nation.

Taking a page out of Charest’s book Couillard celebrated his first-ballot victory in Sunday’s leadership election by boldly announcing that he wants to see Quebec sign on to the Constitution, which René Lévesque’s PQ government refused to do back in 1982. It’s a worthy if ambitious goal, provided that it doesn’t lead to bitter wrangling with Ottawa and fan nationalist flames in Quebec.

Of course Couillard has hills to climb before he can make good on that promise of a fresh start. He needs to rally his party, maintain its current competitive standing, get himself a seat in the National Assembly, and win an election. And he has to rebrand the Liberals as “beyond reproach” as Quebec’s corruption inquiry probes into damaging links between politicians, officials, construction firms and rigged contracts.

All that said, it’s still good to hear a credible Quebec leader assert that his Canadian/Quebec identity is a rich and seamless one. That’s what most Quebecers believe. It speaks to a confidence in our common future.

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